PHBF 3.25.12 TEXT: Ex 15:1-21 Scr. Reading: Ex 15:1-21 Getting Out: Exodus, pt 1 [SOS Verse: Exodus 19:4-5] ILLUS: Scene from The Magician s Nephew, where Aslan brings Narnia into existence by his singing. (Tolkien presented a similar image in The Silmarillion, where Iluvatar brought the world into existence through music.) Human beings love to sing because our God sings. We don t know if He sang the creation into existence, but we do know that He was accompanied by singing as He brought the universe into existence: Job 38:7 the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? And we know He sings over His redeemed people: Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. All around the globe, the soundtrack plays of people singing. No matter their culture, language, age, or training, most people everywhere love to sing. Singing is characteristically human because it is divine. Singing is also characteristically Christian. One of the most prominent (and distinctive) features of Christian meetings is singing. We sing in praise to God. We sing to memorize Scripture. We sing prayers to God and words of encouragement to each other. We sing at Christmas and Good Friday and Easter. We even sing at funerals. We shouldn t be surprised. After all, the Christian Scriptures are filled with songs. One whole book the longest of the 66 is devoted exclusively to songs. Furthermore, great episodes of deliverance are frequently followed with writing and singing a new song: Deborah (Judg 5), Hannah (1 Sam 2), David (1 Chr 16), Mary (Luke 1), worshiping assembly in heaven (Rev 5:9-10). These biblical songs, we have good reason to conclude, are meant to be models for our own worship songs. And in Exodus 15, we come to the very first example. This is probably the earliest composed portion of the book of Exodus. While Moses may have written the rest of the book as late as the last year of his life (we are not told), this song was written immediately after the crossing of the Red Sea. We re going to survey the song s content first and then examine it more closely for the distinct qualities which stand out as a model for our own songs of worship. THE SONG S CONTENT vv 1-3. Praise to the Lord. Verse 1 is an introduction to the rest of the song. It explains why the song exists to praise the Lord and what brought it about victory over the Egyptians. Verse 2 includes three titles for God: my strength, song, and salvation. It s worth noticing that Israel had to experience the danger and deliverance of the Red Sea in order to truly know God in these ways. God was always their source of strength objectively speaking, but they didn t realize the depth of their need until the Red Sea. He was always the best reason for singing, but He didn t inspire joy and praise in them until He delivered them through the Red Sea. APP: This is one reason trials are a mercy from the Lord they show us in personal experience what is always true in reality: that we need God, that He is our best reason for singing and our only hope of salvation. Verse 3 introduces a theme that runs through verse 10: Yahweh as a Warrior King. Israel was a relatively small nation in a hostile world, opposed to God s purposes and God s people. They could make no allies by God s design. This meant they had to know their God would be a warrior on their behalf, the final destroyer of everything opposed to Him and His purposes. vv 4-10. The Defeat of the Egyptians. I mentioned a few weeks ago that there is some scholarly debate about what body of water the Israelites actually crossed whether the Red Page 2
Sea or an unknown shallower, marshy area to the north called the called Reed Sea. Whatever the case, several phrases in verses 4-5 would indicate a large, deep body of water: sunk in the sea floods covered them went down into the depths like a stone. Verse 8 uses an amusing metaphor: the blast of your nostrils. It s a humorous image (to us) but one that makes a theological point: the east wind that parted the Red Sea (14:21) originated in God himself. Verse 9 puts words in the mouth of the pursuing Egyptians. One point in particular is worth noting: the phrase my hand shall destroy them. The artwork of this period often pictures Pharaoh with his hand and arm extended an image of imperial power. Here, he boasts that his mighty hand will destroy his slaves-turned-enemies, Israel. But it s an empty boast, for the Lord s hand proved far superior (vv 6, 12). vv 11-12. Praise and Thanks to the Lord. Verse 11 contains the first ascription of holiness to God in the Scriptures. It s definition is in the parallel statement preceding: Who is like you among the gods? When the answer comes back No one, it s an affirmation that He is, in a single word, holy. He has no rivals, no peers, no equal. Holy means unique, separate, other. vv 13-18. Future Effects. Verse 13 steadfast love = hesed, love that finds expression less in an emotive heart and more in a decisive will. It s the love pledged by husband and wife at a wedding the love of commitment and determination. Also note the phrase the people whom you have redeemed. Redemption was a transfer of ownership (cf. v 16 the people whom you have purchased. Israel thus has become Yahweh s servant. Let my people go that they may serve me. The freedom God purchases for His people isn t freedom to do whatever we want (or even less, the freedom to be me ). It s the freedom to serve Him as we ought. The second half of v 13 is also worth noticing: you have guided them Page 3 to your holy abode. God s plan has always been that His people should be with Him where He lives. It was the original glory of the Garden of Eden. It is the greatest glory of the New Heaven and New Earth. It s the promise of Jesus to His followers (Jn 14:2-3). Verses 14-15 list several nations which Israel would meet as they traveled northeast to the Promised Land. Verse 18 reminds us that the deliverance of the Israelites is part of a larger story the story of God s quest to restore the whole creation to its rightful place and order under Him. The Exodus story is thus about more than the exodus itself. It is a story within the Story, a tale that will be retold hundreds of times with different characters, in different places, and at different times, but always with the same ending. God keeps His promises, delivers His people, defeats His enemies, and takes one more step toward the full restoration of the whole cosmos. vv 19-21. Summary Verse 19 reiterates the whole event. Verse 20 tells us Miriam took Moses song and taught it to the women, popularizing it among the whole nation. Miriam the prophetess first mention of Moses and Aaron s sister s name. As a prophetess, she stands in a line of women so called: Deborah (Jud 4:4), Huldah (2 Kg 22:14), Isaiah s wife (Is 8:3), Anna (Lk 2:36), Philip s daughters (Acts 21:9). [could mention my interest in doing a summer series on remarkable women of the Bible] THE SONG S QUALITIES NECESSITY The order of events preceding this song is instructive: Israel saw, feared, believed, and then sang (14:31). This isn t merely an appropriate response. It s a mandatory one! God has just done something great, and He is worthy of praise. It s the biblical norm: God delivers, and His people sing (Deborah, Hannah, David, Mary, etc.). Exodus 15 HAS to be a song, because of what just happened in Exodus 14! Page 4
APP: Being delivered by God makes people want to sing! So if you don t want to sing, you at least need to ask yourself if you are truly delivered. If you don t fit the norm, why not? Before I was a Christian, I didn t really like any Christian music. Occasionally a tune or a group would catch my attention for a short while, but not for long. And I certainly never was drawn to the message. Not until I was converted did I really want to sing. And this seems to be the norm for all people whom God has delivered: they want to they HAVE TO sing His praises. This point is made expressly in this text immediately after Moses concludes the song in v 18, Miriam takes it up and sings it with the women. They immediately use this new song to celebrate and remember their deliverance, a rather obvious hint that future generations were expected to do the same. This is the song s necessity, the obligation upon the people to praise God for what He just did. But singing is necessary for another reason. It s not just duty that made them sing; it was also need. God s people tend to be forgetful of His great acts of deliverance. They quickly fall into an ungrateful posture of what have you done for me lately? One of the ways God helps us remember the deliverance is by singing. We worship to remember. And it s a wonderfully powerful gift, because when we sing songs of praise, our hearts warm to that praise and the memories and the gratefulness return. Practically, this means that if we don t feel like worshiping, we ve forgotten the deliverance of God. One of the best ways to remember is to choose to worship (with our will), which engages our hearts and minds in worship. See, our singing especially our worship singing does not have to merely reflect our moods or thoughts. Many songs declare what we are aspiring to, what we intend to be true ( You re my all / you re the best/ you re my joy OR I long to be where the praise is never ending ) Singing helps us alter our desires and thoughts, align them with moods and thoughts that are biblical. We sing in an effort to move away from what we naturally feel toward what we ought to feel, think, and experience. Page 5 SEVERITY Did you notice how unapologetically severe (even violent?) this song is? Note: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea (v 1), cast into the sea sunk in the Red Sea (v 4), floods covered them went down into the depths like a stone (v 5), shatters the enemy (v 6), your fury consumes them like stubble (v 7), the sea covered them sank like lead in the mighty waters (v 10), the earth swallowed them (v 12). The focus of the song isn t generally God s rescue of the Israelites; it is His annihilation of the Egyptians. It is a song written, in short, to praise God s destruction of His enemies. This is obviously what provokes fear in the surrounding nations (vv 14-16). This says something about our ability/obligation to approve all of God s works. God is the standard for His own behavior, and all that He does is good. He is not bound by our sensibilities. Rather, our sensibilities are bound to Him all that He does is praiseworthy. When we do not feel that way, the problem lies with us and not with God. Note especially verse 7 in this connection. God s fury is not opposed to His majesty. His anger against evil and His destruction of His enemies are inherent aspects of His glory. His glory is not limited to His tolerance, patience, and mercy. Stuart comments: Those offended by these facts about God are wishing for a reality that has never existed. He does get mad; he does smash his foes, and he is majestic in doing so. (352) How should we think about this? Gleeful? Delight at wicked people going down? They deserve it and we don t? No. This is a point we have to embrace by faith. If it doesn t resonate with us, our responsibility is to yield to God s word and pray for increased faith, not reject it because we don t approve. Couple considerations to help: First, divine wrath is very different from human wrath. God s wrath is not irrational, vindictive, arbitrary, or capricious. It is the appropriate reaction of His righteousness to the rebellion and hurtfulness of sin. When God violently reacts against sin, let us learn the astonishing evil of sin. Page 6
Second, deep down, isn t this the kind of God we know He is anyway? We know He hates sin, that s why we feel so much self-loathing and guilt when we commit it. And don t we want Him to be this way? We want a God we need a God who hates sin because sin destroys us, hurts us, and threatens to ruin everything good and precious in our lives. Everything that good people hate dread diseases, the abuse and victimization of innocent people, war and international conflict, human trafficking, poverty, hunger all this is what sin causes. God hates it for what it does to Him and what it does to us. And we should rejoice that He is this way. If He weren t, He wouldn t be good. You can t love something without hating something else. If you love children, you will hate child abuse. If you love marriage, you will hate complacency, unfaithfulness, disrespect, and divorce. THEOLOGY It s dramatically God-centered he has triumphed (v 1), my strength, my song, my salvation, my God, I will praise him, I will exalt him (v 2), man of war (v 3), right hand glorious in power (v 6), greatness of your majesty, your fury (v 7), Who is like you among the gods? majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders (v 11), you have led in your steadfast love you have guided them by your strength (v 13), the greatness of your arm (v 16), the Lord will reign forever and ever (v 18). The divine name Yahweh = LORD appears 10x. Other rich theological terms are sprinkled throughout, terms like salvation (v 2), holiness (v 11), steadfast love (i.e., hesed v 13), redeemed (v 13). Theological concepts also appear like promises to the fathers (v 2), divine warrior (vv 3-10), divine judgment, enemies of God (vv 14-16), God s incomparability (v 11), God as shepherd (vv 13-17), sanctuary (vv 13, 17), God s eternal reign (v 18). This theological focus would have been especially important for the Israelites, after having spent 400 years in a land thick with idolatry. Add to this the fact that their own God was apparently silent through those centuries. For generations, they have lived, worked, raised families, and Page 7 tried to make sense of life without any written scripture, constantly surrounded by the paganism of Egypt. It s obvious that Israel would have needed some clear teaching about what their God was like. We saw in earlier sermons that they were idolaters at this point. What they needed to realize above all was that their God was unparalleled and unrivaled. He was God of all gods and King of all kings. This is the particular theological focus of this song. There is a pronounced lack of focus on self in this song, and in all the biblical songs. When self is mentioned, I/me/my quickly fades into the background. Moses never mentions his own exploits. The benefits to God s people aren t even celebrated as much at all. Why not? Worship happens when we see, fear, and believe in God. Therefore, by definition it cannot happen when we are thinking about ourselves. Worship requires that we be thinking about the nature, promises, and works of God. If you re not thinking about God, you are not worshiping. Furthermore, we spend most of our time during the week thinking about ourselves. It s our natural tendency. To offer us anything unique and meaningful, therefore, our worship has to draw our attention elsewhere, to an object we re not naturally obsessed with, namely, God. Singing is set alongside teaching in Colossians 3:16, with both growing from the same root: the word of Christ: Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. COLLECTIVITY As the song draws to a close, it expands to include a vision of the whole, collective purpose of God in Israel s redemption. The song isn t just about this little moment in time. The ultimate goals of the exodus are kept in view: The nations will hear. They will fear God and guarantee Israel safe passage to the Page 8
Promised Land. The people will be relocated in the land of promise as per the Abrahamic Covenant. God s rule will last forever. This forward and outward look is essential to our songs as well. God is gathering a whole people to Himself, not just you and I. And someday His kingdom will be established in fullness and last forever and ever. Looking forward for people who don t know God, their songs express the very best moments of their lives deepest joy, greatest fulfillment they will ever know. But for God s people, our best songs, deepest joys, greatest moments are still to come. has come to help you find the way to God. But of all the major religions of the world, only Christianity has a founder who has the audacity to say: I am God and I ve come to find you. Exodus 15:17-18 17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. 18 The LORD will reign forever and ever." Copyright 2012 by Joshua Waltz Those who overcome the beast sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb in Revelation 15:3-4: Revelation 15:3-4 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." How is this the song of Moses? The lyrics aren t the same at all. (The lyrics don t even match the later song of Moses from Dt 33.) ANS: This isn t literally that song of Moses same tune, same lyrics. It s the fulfillment of the song of Moses in the song of the Lamb, which celebrates an even greater redemption and is sung by an even greater company of priests from every nation. One demonstration that this song is not an end in itself, but rather points us to the greater song of the Lamb: Exodus 15:13 You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. It s a marvelous picture of the ministry of Jesus coming to get His people, redeeming them, and bringing them to live with Him forever. Dallas Willard put it this way in his book A Place for Truth: Every religious founder of every other major religion says, I m a prophet who Page 9 Page 10